Successful Ministry to the Retarded[ETowns] - Elmer Towns

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An accurate definition of the "trainable mentally retarded" (TMR) must includethe perspectives of medicine, psychology, sociology, education and religion. TheSunday school teacher will need to know how the composite of these characteristicswill finally affect pupil performance and potential.Persons classified as trainables* have been defined as having IQs ranging from30 to 55. 1 They are uneducable in terms of academic skills and will requiresupervision throughout their life-span. Many can learn to read signs for their ownprotection (such as GO, STOP, LADIES, MEN), to count and use numbers in alimited way. Their usual training program stresses primarily help in self-care, socialhabits, and adjustment to environment.*Classifying the child as trainable according to IQ level is not without itshazards, for IQ for the trainable is not clearly defined and can range from 25-55.PHYSICAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICSRetardation may begin in the prenatal stage of life, or in preconception in thecase of hereditary deficiency. 2 It also can occur following birth as a result ofdisease or injury. The effects of prenatal mental deficiency make themselves feltslowly. The child grows more slowly, matures with more difficulty, and retainsinfant habits longer. Parents may not notice differences in a child until the timewhen he should begin to speak. Although slowness to speak does not indicateretardation, it can be a symptom of something serious; so it should not gounheeded. Previously the child may have seemed to be developing normally.The clues to a child's intelligence level show up when he begins verbalizing histhoughts. Parents are alerted that something is either physically or mentally wrongwhen their child does not try to talk. Some doctors add to the problem by assuringthe parent, "Johnny will be all right; he's just a bit slow. Come back in a year, andprobably he will have snapped out of it." As a result, reality is not faced until thechild is of school age.Trainables are all physically handicapped in that their sight, hearing, speech,and general coordination have been diminished to some degree as a result of theirbrain injury. Such a pupil rarely speaks as naturally or as easily as a normal childbecause his brain does not automatically transmit the complicated signals whichtrigger the intricate muscle action needed for articulation. If the speech centers inhis brain have indeed been extensively damaged, be will be motivated to good useof his voice only after his parents, teachers and therapists spend long hours traininghim in the art of communication.
Since the retardate is unlikely to ever develop a normal-sounding voice, ateacher must never criticize the sound which he makes in a genuine effort toexpress himself. These sounds will characteristically be of an abnormally high ormonotonously low pitch, hoarse or raspy, loud or soft. The last four qualities mayhave their basis in permanent damage to the vocal and hearing organs. Forexample, the Mongoloid typically has a harsh voice with little range of pitch, 3 averbal deficit which is due in some measure to structural defects in and around themouth. Another child may speak loudly because he has lost some of his hearingand is raising his voice in an effort to hear himself. 4Some trainables use their voice regardless of the fact that no one canunderstand them; they are trying to communicate and make their desires knownwithout words. Seven-year-old Tammy constantly screamed for attention becauseshe found it to be a remarkably effective means of making her wishes known. 5 Itdid not necessarily imply unhappiness or displeasure, for she employed it to relatea simple request or to get permission. Teachers used a combination of discipline,praise and energy-consuming physical activity to help Tammy learn not to expressherself by screaming. They expected her to progress slowly, and she did. One ofher teachers explains the kind of attitude which is necessary when dealing with thetrainable and his behavioral problems:I couldn't take the noise away from Tammy, but she herself stoppedit when she could beat on the drum and participate in large muscleactivities with the more mature pupils in class. We must have thestability not to take away what the children bring to us, whether it isdestructive or not. We must accept them where they are and turnthem toward constructive behavior. Before you can take anythingaway, you should have something with which to replace it. 6Some Christian educators in the field of retardation do not feel that children withextreme behavioral problems should be enrolled in a regular Sunday school classuntil their behavior has been modified in special education classes or at home.However, when Sunday school teachers have special training to handle the retarded,the child may receive the help he needs in class.Trainables often use reactionary behavior because, as illustrated above, no oneever helped them to learn a different mode of communication. A pupil may becomeaggressive, hostile, or withdrawn when he fails in efforts to express himself. Sometrainables, such as those who cannot hear, simply retreat and isolate themselves.Teachers can often break the hostility of the nearly deaf child, as well as those whocannot talk, by making sure that he understands, by teaching him to control his ownemotions when he does not understand, and by including him in everything.
Page 2 and 3: CONTENTSCHAPTERIntroductionPart I F
Page 4 and 5: since three hundred mentally retard
Page 6 and 7: probably learn those things which p
Page 8 and 9: age forty, her chances of producing
Page 10 and 11: Professionals are fond of telling t
Page 14 and 15: Teachers can use visual materials t
Page 16 and 17: 6. Positive reinforcement should be
Page 18 and 19: ealize just how desperately these c
Page 20 and 21: However, Ms teacher must deal with
Page 22 and 23: he can perform well. A single perfo
Page 24 and 25: pupils. Teachers must be careful to
Page 26 and 27: in teaching trainable mentally reta
Page 28 and 29: 9. The picture-and-question combina
Page 30 and 31: are able to conceptualize. The auth
Page 32 and 33: PART IISuccessful MinistryChapter 5
Page 34 and 35: their children's handicap." He ment
Page 36 and 37: has never been disciplined not to b
Page 38 and 39: BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENTThe well-pla
Page 40 and 41: 6Who Shall Teach theMentally Retard
Page 42 and 43: Those in special education become a
Page 44 and 45: the media or method through which h
Page 46 and 47: The teacher divests his pupil of ye
Page 48 and 49: Can I set limits, then relax and al
Page 50 and 51: etter lead the person in learning e
Page 52 and 53: a way that His redeeming love is ev
Page 54 and 55: The retarded have a low level of co
Page 56 and 57: Most mentally retarded persons enjo
Page 58 and 59: 8How Shall the Family Be CounseledR
Page 60 and 61: place, attempting abortion, permiss
Page 62 and 63:
school with a neighboring family, b
Page 64 and 65:
Some will make an adequate adjustme
Page 66 and 67:
church family "has been no problem
Page 68 and 69:
criticize his every deed. Randy is
Page 70 and 71:
If there is any starting point with
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Appendix OneHistorical Survey of Me
Page 74 and 75:
8. Children love repetition.9. Chil
Page 76 and 77:
general intellectual functioning, (
Page 78 and 79:
SOURCE: J. V. Hottel, The Tennessee
Page 80 and 81:
8. Ibid., p. 56.9. Ibid., p. 57.10.
Page 82 and 83:
17. Ibid., pp. 18-22.18. Louis Rose
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24. Ovid. Decroly, La Classificatio
Page 86 and 87:
Cruiksbank, William M. et al. A Tea
Page 88 and 89:
Koenig, Frances. "Implications in t
Page 90:
UNESCO. Organization of Special Edu
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